In light the of curious and sometimes uncontrollable nature of children and for the purpose of protecting their small bodies, specially designed and sized child restraint/safety devices have been known and utilized for a significant period of time. For example, “high chairs,” have been utilized to feed children since the beginning of recorded time and child transportation safety devices, i.e., “car seats,” a relatively modern invention, are now a requirement in all states when transporting children in vehicles. These vehicles include automobiles, trains, airplanes, and many others. Having a mechanism to restrain the small bodies of children is axiomatic to the safety of the children involved, as many of the known restraining devices for adults are inadequate, unsafe, or uncomfortable for children.
Many known child-restraining devices are designed using a portable seat sized to accommodate and securely hold a child and attachable to a primary seat, i.e., a standard adult-sized seat provided within a vehicle. The portable seat is generally provided with a seat belt(s), latches, and/or buckles to fasten the child within the portable seat. The portable child seat is also provided with latches, straps, and/or anchors to attach the child seat to the primary seat. Generally, these prior-art devices have one or more belts/straps restraining the upper body portion of the child with one or more belts/straps retaining the lower body portion of the child. Modern child seat restraint systems mimic the five-point harness used for many years by race-car drivers.
When traveling for long periods of time, because of a child's known propensities to move around, or because of forces generated from driving or accidents, those belts/straps become uncomfortable and may even injure the children when retained. Moreover, some of these belts allow for a child to become injured or unintentionally released from the belts/straps if said belts/straps are not properly secured or fastened. Because of the flexibility of those known restraining belts/straps, children tend to maneuver in and out of them. The flexibility of the restraining belts/straps also require continued adjustment if restraining different sized children or to compensate for a growing child.
Furthermore, many known child restraining seats require the user to fasten the belts/straps using buckles, which also can be uncomfortable to the child, as they are generally placed by the legs of the child. The belts also have rather solid edges that tend to dig into the child's skin, most commonly in the neck and leg areas. This is a particular problem when the child falls asleep and leans to one side or the other, placing extra force on the neck/belt contact area.
Furthermore, many known child restraining devices place the safety-belt release button within reach of the child, i.e., between the child's legs. There have been many documented occurrences of children unbuckling themselves from their restraining seats, which reduces or eliminates the safety benefits the seat is intended to provide. Studies have shown that many children develop the motor skills to release themselves from the restraints, but do not have the cognitive recognition to understand the safety implications. These safety implications are especially present when a vehicle is in motion or, for non-vehicle applications, e.g., high chairs, while restrained at a position higher than the floor.
One alternative to seat belt restraining systems in vehicles is the generally U-shaped roller-coaster-type restraining member found in amusement park rides. To date, all known roller-coaster-type restraining members are large mechanical structures designed for outdoor use and under extreme mechanical forces, i.e., roller-coaster tracks. These types of restraint systems are particularly not suitable for use in a normal street-bound vehicle. This is because, in the event of an accident, the medical team needs to be able to easily remove the passengers through the simplest and quickest means possible. With the traditional seat belt restraint system, the medical team can quickly and easily cut the cloth material forming the seat belt in order to remove the passenger. If an automobile was equipped with the roller-coaster-type restraining system, which is traditionally formed with a solid U-shaped bar that passes over the person's shoulders and down in front of their torso area, removing the passenger could become extremely difficult because the solid bar cannot simply be cut as can the cloth seat belt. At a minimum, cutting through the solid bar could waste valuable time.
Because of the complex mechanical design parameters of roller-coaster-type restraint systems, seats featuring these devices are permanently affixed to their carrier, e.g., roller-coaster cars, and could in no way be considered portable and certainly could not be simply attached to an existing seat of an automobile. In fact, all known seats that feature roller-coaster-type restraining member are used in conjunction with rules that specifically exclude small children.
Therefore, a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art as discussed above.